Skip to main content

Birkbeck psychologists receive Preyer Award

Professors Mark Johnson and Annette Karmiloff-Smith were awarded in recognition of their contributions to a better understanding of human development.

This prestigious award comes in recognition of Johnson and Karmiloff-Smith’s substantial contributions to a better understanding of human development in relation to brain and cognitive development, through their work at the Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development (CBCD) at Birkbeck.

Johnson, who is Co-Director of the CBCD, has focused particularly on the study of functional brain development over the first years of life in his research, looking at how specialised cognitive functions emerge within particular brain regions during development. This focuses on the perception and cognition of the social and physical world over the early years.

The late Karmiloff-Smith’s general programme of research argued that models used in adult neuropsychology are inappropriate for the study of neurodevelopmental disorders in children; and that “the brains of atypically-developing children are not normal brains with parts intact and parts impaired, but brains that have developed differently” in the womb and postnatally. She focused closely on tracing cognitive outcomes back to their basic-level origins in infancy.

Johnson said: “It is a great honour to receive this award jointly with Annette. While we have both previously received honours for our individual work, this is the first time that our collaborative research, and our joint efforts to promote a 'neuroconstructivist' approach to development, have been acknowledged. Like me, I know that Annette would have wanted to thank her many European collaborators, as well as her valued colleagues at the Centre in Birkbeck.”

The Preyer Award is administered by the General Council of The European Association of Developmental Psychology, and the recipients are selected based on the publication of first-rate research in scholarly journals, based on empirical research into the antecedents, processes and outcomes of human development-in-context.

The award will be presented to Johnson at the EADP’s biennial conference, this August in Ultrecht. 

Further information:

 

 

More news about: